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- I am just in from the meeting of the school Literary Society. They had a Gaelic debate: “Has emigration been beneficial to the Highlands?” They went into it with great vim and seemed to enjoy it greatly. Several times it resolved itself into little duels in which there seemed to be excellent bits which brought down the house, and retort would follow retort to everybody’s delight… The affirmative won by 35 votes to 14; some did not vote… Stornoway, 28th Feb. 1917
- There have been some fine catches of herring this last week, one day 5000 crans. The Minch has been getting “swept” and the mail-boat is running regularly. Oatmeal scarce; we have had to fall back temporarily on Quaker oats… Stornoway 22nd Feb 1917
- This week’s letter highlights a difficult truth which is very pertinent, given that it is Black History Month. In the course of transcribing the letters we occasionally encounter racist language which is extremely offensive and considered abhorrent today. The fact that a highly educated woman like Mrs Gibson would use this particularly horrible word in such a context reflects the racist ideas prevalent in Britain at this time. We thought carefully about whether to publish this letter on the blog, but we feel it is important not to cover up the past and that we should bring it out into the open, as the attitudes of people in the past are an important part of the historical record. In another sentence of the letter there is a reference to insanity in a particular family. We have not revealed the family’s identity in case this causes distress to any descendants.
- I had letters this week from Wm. B. Macdonald, who is with a battery in France and has had one or two narrow escapes, from J. W. Matheson, in Salonika, and from Alick Thomson, in the training camp at Gailes. He is enjoying the change from the trench-mud. Did I mention that Simon Mackenzie, who has been on a minesweeper off the west coast of Ireland, is now home, discharged on account of his health?… Stornoway, 15th Feb. 1917
- He told us of a mule who had a spite against a man and waited patiently for an opportunity to pay him out [get revenge]. One day the man was grooming the third mule from his enemy. The watchful one saw his chance and laid the man out with a kick delivered below the bellies of the two intervening mules. What do you think of that? E. says they never forget anybody who has beaten them…Stornoway, 9th Feb. 1917
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Tag Archives: Harris
Friday photo: Manish
This image of Manish on the Golden Road in Harris features in the James Shaw Grant collection held by the archive service. I love this photo partly because is does capture some of the remoteness of the Golden Road and … Continue reading
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Tagged Friday Photo, Golden Road, Harris, manish
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Friday photo: A walk in the woods
Trees on the islands are not as ubiquitous as we may like, but this lovely avenue at Rodel Wood looks a lovely place for a walk on a sunny (midge free) day. The postcard states the image is of Rodel … Continue reading
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Tagged Harris, Rodel, trees, woods
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Friday photo: Roll on-roll off ferries come to the islands
Tuesday saw the 50th anniversary of the introduction of a car ferry to the Western Isles. The MV Hebrides was brought into service on the Uig-Tarbert-Lochmaddy triangle on 15 April 1964 by David MacBrayne Ltd. She was built by Russell … Continue reading
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Tagged ferries, Harris, Lochmaddy, MV Hebirdes, Skye, Tarbert, Transport
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Friday photo: The Shiants
The Shiants sit just off the east coast of north Harris in the minch and consist of three main islands. The three islands are known as Garbh Eilean (rough island), Eilean an Taighe (house island) and Eilean Mhuire (island of … Continue reading
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Archivists in the making – Sir E Scott School
On 22 March, David visited Sir E Scott School to work with the deputy head, Calum Mackay, and pupils to sort the schools archives. We started by looking through some school material that had already been sorted from the 1960s-2000s. … Continue reading
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Friday Photo: Amhuinnsuidhe Castle
This weeks Friday photo is of picturesque Amhuinnsuidhe Castle in beautiful Harris. If you have been brave enough to drive (or be driven) on the road to Amhuinnsuidhe, then well done! As you can imagine, the road to the castle … Continue reading
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Tagged Amhuinnsuidhe Castle, Govig, Harris, Huisinish, scenery
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Friday Photo; Bunavoneader whaling station
The whaling station at Bunavoneader was first opened by Norwegian father and son Peter and Carl Herlofson, who founded the company A/S Harupunen (The Harpoon). The family had started the company in Iceland in 1896, but were searching for … Continue reading
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Friday photo; Road to Hushinish
Tomorrow the Islands Book Trust is hosting a boat trip from Hushinish to Scarp departing at 11am. Scarp is famous for being the island where an experiment was carried out to see if post could be delivered by means of rockets. … Continue reading
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Tagged Bunavoneader, Friday Photo, Harris, Hushinish, Islands Book Trust, Scarp
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Friday Photo; Northton Temple
This week’s Friday Photo is of Northton Temple in Harris, which has recently had some renovations made to its stonework. Rudh’ an Teampaill, the headland that the chapel sits on, is thought to have at one point being enclosed by … Continue reading
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